


The Calm After

by kbecks87



Category: Dawson's Creek
Genre: 4x03 (The Two Gentlemen of Capeside), AKA: The One With The Storm, Canon Compliant, Complete, Episode Tag, F/M, One Shot, PJO, Pacey and Joey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbecks87/pseuds/kbecks87
Summary: Summary: Pacey/Joey. Episode tag for 4x03 (The Two Gentleman of Capeside) (AKA – the one with the storm). Cannon Compliant. One Shot.What happens after Pacey and Joey leave the marina.
Relationships: Joey Potter/Pacey Witter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	The Calm After

The sky is still dark, but rain falls in spurts instead of the downpour of a few hours ago. Trees and branches are littering the ground, power has been knocked out at seemingly random intervals, and trash and debris is scattered everywhere – all remnants of the storm as it finally passes. Joey keeps her watery, unseeing, eyes focused out of the passenger side window, both her hands are wrapped around one of his as he drives, his hand resting on her thigh.

The ride to the Potter B&B is silent – Not the awkward kind, but not exactly comfortable either. Pacey, no doubt, is thinking of the True Love. And, she’ll miss that boat, _of course_ she’ll miss that boat – the best summer of her life was spent on that boat. But, driving through the destruction left in the storms wake brings into sharp focus how lucky they are to have all come out unscathed.

“Jo,” his voice is low, but it pulls her out of her thoughts and back to reality. She blinks a few times, forcing tears that had been on the brink of falling back and hums softly in response, turning to look at him. He jerks his head a little, directing her attention out the wind shield, and she realizes they have parked. She pulls in a deep breath; there is a light on in the kitchen and you can see movement inside, someone – presumably Bessie – pacing the room. Joey nods a few times, trying to stop her thoughts from swimming. Pacey brings her hand up to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Her breath catches in her throat, a half sob.

She knows she has to go inside, knows that Bessie must be worried about her, but the idea of watching Pacey drive away after everything today has her feeling cold and panicky. All most without thinking about it, she looks at him with huge, wild, eyes “Stay?”

He squeezes her hand softly, probably more reflex than anything, “Sure, Potter.”. She thinks that he is trying to lighten the mood, but she doesn’t think that is possible right now. She nods, slow, then pulls her hand from his and gets out of the truck. She rushes over to his side, anxious to be in touching distance again. He must notice, because after he pulls his backpack from the floorboards and slings it over his shoulder, he pushes the truck door closed and turns to her, pulling her into a hug. She lets herself melt into him and he pulls back just enough to keep one arm around her shoulders as he presses a kiss to her temple and they walk towards the house.

Joey is fiddling with her key in the lock when the door is pulled open from the inside. “Joey, I was so worried,” Bessie says, pulling her out of Pacey’s embrace and into her own. Alexander is balanced on her hip, and is a little fussy, so Joey awkwardly hugs them both while Alexander pulls at her hair, wet strands in clumps between his chubby fingers.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Joey says as they step back into their personal space, Alexander immediately making grabby hands for Joey as her hair is pulled from his fist. She smiles, despite herself, and reaches out to tickle at his stomach, smiling when he lets out a sleepy laugh.

“I’m sorry we didn’t come to the marina; I was worried about taking him out in the storm.” She adjusts Alexander on her hip.

“It’s okay, Bess, there wasn’t anything you could have done anyway.”. Bessie nods, but doesn’t look entirely convinced. She gives Joey a long look before she goes to Pacey and gives him a quick one-armed hug. Alexander lets out a delighted squeal and grabs at Pacey. It diffuses some of the tension in the room.

Bessie smiles and walks back over to Joey, reaching out and squeezing her wrist softly, “I love you, Sis” she says, just barley loud enough for Joey to hear, then clears her throat, “I should get this one to bed” she boops Alexander’s nose as she says it and he giggles, letting out a string of nonsensical gibberish. “You guys get some sleep, okay?”

“Night, Bess”

“Goodnight, Bessie.”

She disappears down the hall, door shutting softly behind her, and Joey turns to Pacey and walks into his waiting arms. She presses a quick kiss to his collarbone, “Do you need to call your parents or anything?” she feels the way his mouth pulls into a straight line and _hates_ that after a night like tonight, his parents aren’t worried sick.

“I’m not even sure they know what happened” he says, his lips brushing her forehead as he speaks.

She reaches up and grabs his arms, the still wet fabric of his sweater bunching in her hands. “You should change…take a shower, maybe?” he smells like salt.

“You too” he counters, squeezes the back of her shirt until a few drops of water fall to the floor, like he feels like he has to prove the point.

She forces herself to smile when she looks up at him, “I will, but you should go first” he looks like he is going to argue so she adds “I can find you some clothes, if you need.”

He sighs, rolls his head back and then looks back at her, willing to let her have this one, “I have my gym clothes,” he gestures to his backpack. He pulls in a long breath, kisses the crown of her head, squeezes her hip softly, and then takes a step back, adjusting his backpack. “I’ll only be a few minutes” he promises.

Once alone, all Joey can think about is the enormity of the day – how differently and spectacularly badly, this all could have ended. She pulls in a deep breath and rubs at her eyes. Her need to do _something_ couples with her worry about Pacey to create a care-taking compulsion. Before she has really thought about it, and definitely before she understands it, she is pulling canned soup down from the pantry and turning the stove top on.

By the time she’s heard the shower start and stop, and then the dryer start – presumably Pacey throwing his wet clothes in to dry – soup is heating on the stove and grilled cheese sandwiches are browning. She’s not even hungry, she doubts Pacey is either, even though neither of them has eaten since school. It’s stupid, and she’s probably wasting food, but for some reason she feels like she _has_ to do it.

Pacey rests his hands on her hips and she jumps a little, not having heard him come into the kitchen. He breathes out a laugh and slides his arms around her. She turns in his arms, bringing her hands up to his shoulders. He’s wearing black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt, they both have the Minutemen insignia on them, and it makes him look younger than he is. “I can finish this” he says. She wants to argue, at least finish making the food, but she runs her hand through his still-damp hair and looks at him and knows that he won’t let it go, so she nods a little. He kisses her forehead, her cheek, and then the tip of her nose. He waits for her to smile, then pushes her gently toward the hallway.

-

When she comes out of the bathroom, the kitchen is empty and the dishes she used are in the drying rack, clean. She blinks a few times, and turns back to the hall. When she opens the door to her bedroom, Pacey is sitting on the floor, back against bed, staring up at the ceiling. There is a plate piled with both sandwiches in front of him, a bowl with soup and two spoons, and a bottle of water on the side.

She sits down next to him and he folds his arm around her shoulders automatically, pulling her close. “Maybe she’ll wash up in a week or two…maybe you can fix her up again?” she whispers, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

“Yeah, maybe” he answers, but she can tell he doesn’t believe it.

They both pick at the food; between them, they eat one of the sandwiches and about half the soup. When it becomes clear that they’re done eating, Pacey stands and sets the dishes on top of her dresser, to be delt with later. He crosses the room and stops at her feet, reaching his hand down. She smiles softly and takes his hand, letting him pull her up, “Bed?” he asks, quiet.

She nods, “Bed” she agrees. He leans in and kisses her softly before pulling her to the bed. There is a short shuffle of limbs while they situate and when it’s done, they are both lying on their sides, facing each other. Pacey has one bicep under her head, arm bent at the elbow so he can play his fingers through her hair, his other arm is around her waist, fingers splayed against her back to hold her close. Her nose is pressed into the hollow of his throat and once they settle, she tilts her head back to press a kiss to the underside of his jaw. She has on hand fisted in the fabric of his shirt, pressed against his chest, and her other hand comes up to rest against his cheek.

He turns his head and presses a kiss against her palm. He winces when he sees the tears collecting in her eyes, “Jo…” he whispers, pulling her impossibly closer. Somehow, in the dark of the night, it’s harder to keep all her feelings about the day at bay.

She shakes her head a little, feeling silly, “I know, I’m being stupid. I know…I know that everyone is okay, I just…I was so afraid today, Pace” she’s quiet for a moment, opening and closing her mouth a few times before she finds her words, “I mean, you could have…” she swallows “you could have died out there, Pacey.” She finishes in a rush, words tripping over each other.

“So could you, Jo” he barley even whispers it, his lips brushing against her forehead as he speaks. She can tell this has been on his mind in the way he says it. She pulls back just enough to have room to push up and kiss him. She knows he’s right, technically, but she never felt like she was in real danger – all her worry had been with him and the True Love. When they pull back, he pushes the hair out of her eyes and slides his hand to the back of her neck, keeping her close. “I don’t know what I’d have done if…” he trails off, shaking his head a little.

Her hands come up so that the tips of her fingers can frame his jaw. She waits for his eyes to meet hers, “me either, Pace.”

-

She wakes up sprawled across his chest and as she comes out of the sleep, she registers the gentle pull of his hand through her hair. She lays there for a moment, letting the waking world come back to her slowly, thinking idly about how much she misses waking up with him every day. “Hey” she whispers, moving only enough to curl around his body more comfortably.

He breathes out a little laugh that she can feel ruffle her hair, “Morning” he answers, hand still pulling through her hair.

“I was thinking,” she presses one elbow into the mattress so she can prop herself up to look at him. She leans up and kisses him, just a quick press of her lips to his, “we should go to the marina today and register the True Love missing, make sure they know whose she is, in case she washes up someplace.” A beat passes, “And there have to be websites for this kind of thing, where we can post about it…in case she washes up in some other town.”

“Sure, Jo” he smiles sadly. He doesn’t believe that the True Love is going to wash up, she can tell, “that’s a good idea”. He leans up and kisses her, quick like earlier and she smiles. “Can we go this afternoon?” he asks and her eyebrow quirks a little, “I’ve got something I need to do this morning.”

She smiles, soft, leans in and kisses him more soundly, “Of course, Pacey”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!


End file.
